Almost all Britons satisfied with the Queen as Monarch, but Prince William is the most popular Royal

As her Diamond Jubilee year draws to a close, nine in ten people in Britain say they are satisfied with the way the Queen is doing her job as Monarch, a poll by Ipsos MORI has found. But when it comes to which Royal the public like most, even her popularity is surpassed by that of Prince William.

The Queen’s 90% satisfaction rating matches the record figure she achieved in June, at the height of the Jubilee celebrations. Only 7% say they are dissatisfied with Her Majesty’s performance. The Queen’s rating is much higher than the ratings of David Cameron (40%) and Ed Miliband (40%) put together; no Prime Minister or party leader has ever scored more than 75% satisfaction in Ipsos MORI’s polls. When people are asked to name the two or three members of the Royal Family they like the most, however, the most frequently named is Prince William, picked by 62%, ahead of the Queen (48%), Prince Harry (36%) and the Duchess of Cambridge (23%). There are clear age differences, with older members of the public more likely to pick the Queen while younger people favour the younger members of the Royal Family more. Support for retaining the Monarchy remains at the same high level recorded earlier in the year. Four people in five, 79%, say they favour Britain remaining a Monarchy while 16% would prefer it to become a republic. This is in line with the 80% and 77% support for the Monarchy found in two Ipsos MORI polls over the summer, and is higher than in any previous polls over almost 20 years, all of which found support for the Monarchy between 65% and 75%. Public confidence in the Monarchy’s long-term future is also at a 20-year high. Three in five (60%) think Britain will still have a Monarchy in fifty years’ time, against 27% who do not, more than a two-to-one majority. Opinion is evenly split over whether the Monarchy will still exist in a hundred years, 42% thinking it will and 38% that it will not. Both figures represent the highest numbers predicting the Monarchy’s survival since January 1990. All but a few, 90%, say that they think Britain will still have a Monarchy ten years from now, and only 6% that it will not.

Despite the popularity of the Queen and the Monarchy, however, the majority of the public have misgivings about the cost. More than half, 52%, said they agreed that “The Royal Family should not receive as much money as it does”, while 42% disagreed. Nevertheless, this is a significant fall in the number feeling the Royal Family receives too much money since polls on the same question a few years ago. In 1992, 76% thought “The Royal Family should not receive as much money as it does”, and the figure was still 64% in June 2000.

Director of Political Analysis at Ipsos MORI and Professor of Public Opinion and Political Analysis at King’s College London, Professor Roger Mortimore, said:

“This has been a triumphant Jubilee year. After a rocky period in the 1990s, public support for the Monarchy and the Queen now looks as strong as it has been for many years. Most of the public now expect the Monarchy to survive well into the future, and that is probably the best guarantee that it will do so.”

Technical note

Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,014 British adults aged 18+ by telephone on 10-13 November 2012. Data were weighted to match the profile of the population.

King’s College London and Ipsos MORI are hosting a panel discussion and debate on The Queen and The Monarchy to be held in The Chapel at King's College London on 23 November. The panel will consist of Professor Blackburn, Professor Mortimore, and Professor Vernon Bogdanor (Institute of Contemporary British History). This is a public debate, so all are welcome. Details can be found on the Ipsos MORI website.

King's College London, one of the UK's premier research universities, and Ipsos MORI, one of the country’s best-known and longest-established research companies, have formed a partnership to bring together researchers from both institutions to develop new opportunities and enhance the excellence and impact of the work that both do.